Stuck with You: the perfect feel-good romantic comedy!. Carla Burgess

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СКАЧАТЬ by her nervous chatter. These days, however, I had to fight the urge to do the same, as though standing in silence was somehow hostile and unfriendly.

      There was a pause and the lift doors opened again, but we hadn’t moved from the ground floor. The man tutted and stabbed the keypad with his index finger once more. I glanced across at him as the doors slid closed again. There was something vaguely familiar about him, but I couldn’t think where I knew him from. I looked at him from out of the corner of my eye as the lift shuddered and started to move. The grinding noise and the shaking didn’t bother me at first. It was a pretty old lift, after all. When it jolted to a sudden stop, I stepped forward, expecting the doors to ping open and reveal the car park.

      The doors stayed closed.

      ‘Erm…?’

      I stared at the dull metal doors for a moment before turning to look at the man. He raised an eyebrow, then looked up at the roof and around the lift. My heart stopped.

       It was him. It was Daniel Moore!

      I didn’t know what to do; I didn’t know how to feel. Emotions warred within me. I was delighted and horrified. Excited and panicked. Would he recognise me? Would he remember that kiss? What if he didn’t? Would that destroy the memory?

      And what if he’d turned into a horrible man? Then my perfect memory would most definitely be ruined.

      Panic gripped me. Turning quickly away, I slammed my hand against the door and then beat against it with my fist. Why wouldn’t the damn thing open? I had to get out now.

      ‘Hold on, calm down,’ he said, a trace of laughter in his voice. It was deeper than I remembered. ‘Maybe it’s just having a moment. I’ll see if it’ll take us to the next floor. Maybe that will work.’ He began pressing each button, one after the other. I watched him over my shoulder. He was wearing a brown woolly jumper, blue jeans and brown boots. He looked bigger than he’d been at college. Taller and broader. His hair was no longer silky soft and long, but cropped short and a darker shade of blond. Was it really him? Maybe I was mistaken.

      How long had it been since I’d last seen him? Seven, eight years? My mind must be playing tricks. There was no way it could be him. I must be wrong.

      ‘Is it making any difference?’ I stammered. ‘Do you think it will work?’

      ‘Not as far as I can tell.’

      I looked around at the aluminium walls. Were we stuck in this lift? This couldn’t be happening.

      ‘Are we between floors?’ He stared past me at the doors, eyes narrowed.

      I stared at him stupidly. ‘How can you tell?’

      ‘Have a look through the gap where the doors meet. Can you see light? Or is it just black?’

      There wasn’t much of a gap. I pressed my eye to it, feeling the cold metal against my cheek. ‘Just black, I think. Can we prise the doors apart?’

      ‘Not much point if it’s just a brick wall outside.’ He stepped forward and I moved out of his way so he could press his eye to the narrow gap. ‘I can’t tell,’ he muttered, before inserting his fingertips into the crack and trying to pull them apart. The doors didn’t give. He swore softly and then apologised.

      ‘It’s okay.’ I crossed to the control panel. There was a button marked emergency and I pressed my finger to it briefly. A bell rang loudly, making me jump. ‘Why would they do that? Why would they make it sound so horrid?’ I complained. I was already shaking and my legs felt weak. ‘As if being trapped in a lift isn’t bad enough, they make the emergency button so loud it shreds every last nerve you have.’

      ‘I know. It’s crap.’ He looked up at the ceiling and around at the smooth aluminium walls. ‘So loud and yet still no one bloody answers it. Press it again.’

      I pressed it again. And then again and again.

      ‘Are they kidding me?’ I snapped. ‘This is a busy supermarket! Customers use this lift all day, every day. Surely they must have someone monitoring it in case anyone gets stuck.’ I pressed the button again. ‘Bang on the door, see if someone hears us from outside.’

      Daniel thumped his fist against the door panel and then kicked the door. His boot made a loud metallic boom.

      ‘Here,’ I said, removing my shoe and banging the heel against the door. It made a loud metallic bang. ‘HELP!’ I shouted. ‘HELP!’

      Daniel joined in, kicking and banging and shouting.

      ‘I can’t believe no one is hearing this,’ I said, after a long bout of cacophonous noise. My heart was pounding and I was sweating. ‘Surely there must be someone about? It’s not even that late.’

      ‘I know!’ He ran his hands through his short sandy hair and crossed to the buzzer again. He rang it repeatedly in longer and longer bursts while I carried on banging with my shoe. The noise filled my head, feeding my panic and making me more and more desperate to escape. I screamed until my voice broke and I coughed.

      ‘Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Take it easy.’ Daniel stepped towards me and took hold of my shoulders, his eyes wide with concern. It was definitely him. It was definitely, definitely Daniel Moore. Ripping myself away from his grip, I threw myself bodily at the doors. Bad idea. It hurt and I looked like a right idiot when I bounced off and landed heavily on the floor.

      ‘Jesus!’ Daniel looked down at me in astonishment. ‘Are you all right?’

      Nodding mutely, I sat up slowly, rubbing my sore cheekbone. I wanted to cry, but then I’d look like even more of a nutter.

      ‘I don’t think this noise is doing our stress levels any good,’ he said, crouching down next to me. He looked at me thoughtfully. ‘I think we just need to chill for a while and try again when we’re ready.’

      ‘What if we run out of air?’ I heard myself say. ‘There doesn’t seem to be any air and it’s getting hotter and hotter.’

      ‘That’s because you’re screaming and kicking and panicking. There’s a vent up there, see? The air’s not about to run out. Let’s just be quiet for a minute or so and get our breath back.’

      He sat on the floor beside me and took my hand. My instinct was to pull away; I knew my palm would be clammy and wet, whereas his was warm and dry. A bit rough though. I wondered what he did for a living. I’d always imagined he’d be a musician or something arty.

      ‘How can no one have heard us?’

      ‘Maybe they have and help is on its way?’ He looked up at the roof again. ‘I’m sure it won’t be long. It’s too busy here for us to go unnoticed for much longer. Come on now, just focus on your breathing.’

      Wondering if he was some sort of yoga enthusiast, I sucked in a shuddering breath and let it out in a gasp. I hadn’t even realised my breathing was so shallow before.

      ‘In through your nose.’ He took a deep breath in, long and slow, and I tried to copy. ‘Out through your mouth. In through your nose. Out through your mouth.’

      Gradually, my breathing slowed and my head started to clear. How was he so calm? He was just СКАЧАТЬ